most used lens on the rd1?

back alley

back alley

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i'm only wondering out loud about this...as it's a no gear day here at rff...but i am curious...as usual i have been thinking about my next lens...and if the 15 or the 21 would be best?
i know that i love the 15 on the rd1 but i never gave the 21 an honest chance and i'm now thinking it might be a fun lens to use on the rd1 as a point and shoot sorta thing.

should anyone also have a wondering about this...i think it would be ok to wonder aloud...

;)
 
Since I have the RD-1 less than a week now, I haven't much changed lenses, yet... But I have a 50mm russian Leica-copy from the 1950ies, which is surprisingly good and a Voigtländer 35mm / f1.4 Nokton Classic, which I used on a PEN E-P2 and Leica-CL before.

Until now, I like the Voigtländer best. But I'm thinking about another Voigtländer, either 15mm or the new 12mm. Not sure, yet.
 
Most used lens depends on the situation. My most used general purpose lens is a 35mm/40mm -- either Summaron 35/2.8, UC-Hex 35/2 or M-Rokkor 40/2. For indoor gatherings, it's either the Canon 25/3.5 or M-Rokkor 28/2.8. For portraits and medium distance stuff it's a 50mm -- I have too many of those for sure.

I tried the CV 15/4.5, but the perspective was way too funky for me. I tried the 21/3.4 SA, and I liked the FOV a lot, but the light fall-off and metering issues on the R-D1 got in the way of making good pictures for me. I may try again with a CV 21/4 Skopar or a CZ 21/4.5 C-Biogon.

Ari
 
I'm in a similar position. I love the 15 so much, but I am curious about the 21mm fov on an R-D1. I think I would like it, but at this point I can't do without the 15mm. I don't think I'd use both enough to justify the cost, unless I went for the ZM 21/2.8. I'd use that as a low light/tight corners solution - but I already have the ZM 28/2.8 for that, and I am pretty satisfied!

So I am back at the beginning! I guess no gear Sunday for me is realizing I don't want to buy anymore lenses!
 
i am using Sony NEX-5 which has the same crop factor as R-D1 and 15mm was just nice in terms of wide angle perspective for me.
Added depth to the picture without being too wide and not too much distortion.

A lot of people like this focal length, even on APS-C DSLR some newer zoom lenses starts at 16mm.
 
My RD1 left last week with regrets but, my favorite 40mm Rokkor is here to stay. I found it the best overall "normal for the Rd1 and M8 as well. I'm a normal kinda guy.
 
I think the 21mm would be a good standard lens for the R-D1, because it's 31.5mm equivalent would be like using the 35mm on an M6, plus just a little bit more coverage. Another option along those lines would be a 24mm or a 25mm, yielding a 36mm or 37.5mm equivalent, respectively. The latter would be right in-between the 35mm and 40mm on an M6. As these are both popular focal lengths, I could see one of these choices as just about ideal, provided you don't mind using an external finder. A 35mm Leica or CV finder ought to be close enough, or maybe the 40mm CV if using the 25mm lens.
 
my standard lens is the rollei 40 (=about 60mm fov) on the rd1...love it.

second most used lens is the 28...very easy to use...

and then the 50 for a bit of a longer lens (=75 on the rd1)

21 would be a good lens for point and shoot style...i think...

the 15 was good for p&s also but i'm thinking the 21 might be easier to work with.
 
It's been almost a month since I got my SWH 15/4.5 from right here in RFF. The Ultron 28 hasn't seen the light of day since. I'm loving the focal length of the 15, a lot more than the 28.

I think I'll leave the 15 on for a while.
 
back alley said:
i know that i love the 15 on the rd1 but i never gave the 21 an honest chance and i'm now thinking it might be a fun lens to use on the rd1 as a point and shoot sorta thing.
Click to expand...
I have both the CV 15 and the CV 21 Color-Skopar. I like the 15 on the Epson, but I think I have not tried the 21 on it so far. For me, the 32mm equivalent field of view simply requires frames, while the 23mm equivalent of the CV 15 is much more forgiving in this respect. Unfortunately the closest accessory finder (and right now the only one) I have is the Voigtländer 28. I use it on the M8:


LeicaM8-Voigtlander21mm-finder28mm.jpg
 
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Joe, I've been using my 21/2.8 a lot on the R-D1 lately. I really like having the 32mm field of view and not needing an external viewfinder! to frame, i pick 50mm framelines and then imagine them as the center rectangle of a bigger one that would be 3x. framing with both eyes open makes this a pretty easy way to get a somewhat accurate result.

I particularly didn't like the 15mm on the R-D1, for ultra wide I think the 12mm gives a much more unique result, but that's really personal.
 
21 sounds good to me, Joe, and there are several good choices in that focal length. On last year's vacation trip I took 25 and 50 for the M8, which translates to the same angle of view as 21 and 43 on an APS size sensor. This combination worked very well, convenient and versatile. The wide lens was just medium-wide (effectively between 28 and 35 on FF) so it was easy to use.
 
I have both lenses and using the 15mm more. It is the better when point & shooting, the 4.5/15 against the 4.0/21 aperture is covered by one exposure stop more because of the focal length.

Vignetting is not a problem with the 15mm, but a serious issue with the 21mm (and I dont know why).

So, if you now have to choose, I would take the 15mm.

Yours,

Andreas

PS: My most used lens is the Leitz Summicron C 40/2 -puurfect for the R-D1, wonderful colors, wonderful bokeeh!
 
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Here are two examples concerning the vigentting effect. Only post production was reducing to 750 x 499, except this no nothing.

CV 15:
EPSN0307.JPG


CV21:
EPSN4493.JPG
 
I have the CV 21/4 and its a good little lens. But I´m not so much a close-up guy and prefer using the 28/1.9 for the most part.
 
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